(BY SENS. BERNIE SANDERS AND PATTY MURRAY, OPINION CONTRIBUTORS. THE HILL).
The Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which took away the constitutional right to abortion, was only two years ago. Today, more than one-third of American women of reproductive age live in states that have criminalized abortion and are denying women access to basic reproductive health care.
Let’s be clear: Abortion is health care, it is a common and safe medical procedure, and it is a fundamental human right. There are millions of women across 21 states who are being forced to live under Republican laws that allow politicians to make the deeply personal decisions women should be making for themselves with their doctors.
Every woman should have the freedom in America to decide when and how they become pregnant — that shouldn’t be controversial. But, because of Republican policies, the horrifying truth of what it means when abortion — health care — is severely restricted or fully banned is becoming more apparent every day: